Another British holiday jet forced into emergency landing after microwave catches fire

Wednesday 27 August 2008 12:26 BST

A plane full of British holidaymakers was forced to make an emergency landing after an onboard microwave oven caught fire.

Passengers on the flight to Gatwick, operated by Thomsonfly, screamed in panic as black smoke filled the cabin shortly after the plane took off from Pula in western Croatia.

The pilot immediately turned around the aircraft, which had only reached 3,000ft, and headed back to Pula airport where the 190 passengers were evacuated.

The cabin of the Thomson jet filled with smoke, forcing the plane into an emergency landing (file photo)

The cabin of the Thomson jet filled with smoke, forcing the plane into an emergency landing (file photo)

Technicians checked the plane's electrical system and found an 'installation error' in its galley microwave.

Safety chiefs grounded the jet for repairs and the holidaymakers had to wait in the terminal for eight hours before returning to London on a different plane.

But five terrified passengers refused to board another plane and returned to Britain by train via Venice.

The mid-air drama on Tuesday afternoon came just hours after passengers on board a Ryanair plane travelling from Bristol to Spain feared they were about to die when it plummeted 26,000ft following a sudden drop in cabin pressure. The Ryanair jet was forced to make an emergency landing in France on Monday night.

The Thomsonfly plane was met on the runway by a fleet of fire and emergency service crews and escorted to a secure area where the 190 passengers were evacuated.

Safety experts would not allow the plane to fly again without further tests and passengers waited eight hours in the terminal at Pula Airport for Thomsonfly to provide another plane.

‘Everything went according to an emergency plan,’ said Mr Rogovic.

The plane - the same model Boeing 737-800 that ran into problems on Monday - reached only 3,000ft after take-off before thick, black smoke began to fill the cabin.

‘Flight number THOM 2508 took off at 2.10pm Central European Time and after reaching a height of 3,000 feet the crew reported smoke in the cabin,’ said Mr Rogovic.

‘We alerted our firefighters and they were at the landing runway in three minutes.

‘The plane landed back at 2.18 pm and the passengers left the plane,’ he added.

Air safety inspectors allowed the original Thomsonfly plane to leave later the same night after a series of electrical system tests.

They banned it, however, from carrying any passengers and the jet took off from Pula Airport with just its flight and cabin crew on board.

‘Some of the passengers were very badly shaken but the pilot reacted very quickly. God knows what they would have done if the plane had not been so close to the airport when it happened,’ said one flight worker.

Meanwhile it emerged that Ryanair had to make an emergency landing during a flight from Budapest to Dublin on Monday - because of a bag of mushrooms.

The frozen fungi had been stored in a bag in an overhead locker by a passenger.

But as the mushrooms defrosted, water seeped through the locker and dripped on someone who apparently suffered from an allergy to the mushrooms.

Flight staff diverted the plane to Frankfurt in Germany after the passenger started to complain of choking and a swollen neck.

Doctors transferred the passenger to nearby Simmern hospital and the jet was grounded amid claims that the mushrooms had contaminated the plane's air conditioning system.

Passengers continued their journey to Dublin on another Ryanair plane.